runaway american dream
by jenson40
Summary: They hadn't seen each other since he left her in Chicago. She had made a life for herself without him. The Formans' wedding anniversary was turning out to be one major burn on the both of them. JH. No season 8.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello! This is my first That 70s Show fanfic, and I am very excited! I uploaded it a few days ago, and it changed to HTML and then I couldn't log on for stupid reasons, so I apologize greatly! I'm not sure what the schedule for this fic will be, but you know how it goes. I'm kinda trying to kick writer's block, so hopefully I can do that. Well, if you enjoyed this, I would absolutely love a review to know what your thoughts were and if I should continue. Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Stacy tugged at her dark blonde locks, glaring at her reflection in the mirror. She patted her crown, hoping to flatten the frizz that was brought on by the humidity of the previous week's rainstorm. Her hand slid down the rest of her wild curls, not holding a single strand into her desired smaller circumference. Her sister, Stephanie, never had this problem. Her hair was more manageable, only reaching her shoulders and not tightly coiling her naturally wavy hair. Stephanie used to have the same curls as her sister, but she outgrew them by middle school.

They had been adorable, though. Tight ringlets making them look like devilish Shirley Temples. Gaining them nicknames like "Point Place's Sweethearts," "Curly Tops," and their personal favorite "The Little Princesses." That was a cute look for a couple of five-year-olds, but once you hit your teen years (and perms went out of style), all that was left was an annoying rat's nest glued to your head.

Stacy knew with her hair the way it was, she could _not_ go out today. Especially not when Stephanie shuffled half asleep into their bathroom; her hair damn near perfect despite just rolling out of bed. Stacy normally wasn't jealous of her sister; they were pretty much best friends. But when it came to their hair, she would kill to have the low maintenance type like her sister.

"Stephie?" Stacy huffed when Stephanie began brushing her teeth. "Can you help me straighten my hair?"

Stephanie grunted, rubbing her hand underneath her glasses to shake the blurriness from her vision. "Whatever."

Stacy smiled, glancing at the clock. If they started now, her hair could be tamed in about 40 minutes. This must have been what their mom meant when she explained the importance of a morning routine back when she had given them make up for their 13th birthday. Stacy already knew their mother had been in and out of the shower by 6:30, far earlier than needed for an 8:30 church service.

Although if they were honest, Stacy was the one who spent the most time primping in the mornings. When they were little and practically living at their grandparents' house, Stephanie had been out in the garage or playing catch with their grandpa while Stacy played beautician with Uncle Fez and their grandma. The difference still showed with Stacy's willingness to spend time "painting her face," as Steph put it, and Stephanie's later sleeping habits.

Surprisingly today, Steph had actually gotten up with her alarm clock, and was oddly happy to help her sister. Though despite her thoughtfulness, it was still early, and neither girls spoke much. Stephanie got to work trying to flatten some of the curliest hair she had ever seen, all the while humming "In the Air Tonight."

After what felt like an eternity, Stephanie pulled the plug on the straightening iron. She ran a brush through her own hair, thankful that she had gotten dressed before stepping into the warzone that was their shared bathroom. If she hadn't, they would have been late for church. And today was not a good day for them to be late for church.

"Stace, you look nice," their mother commented when they exited the bathroom. The girls stared slightly; their mother had put more effort than normal into her Sunday best. "Do you that your grandma will be ok with it?"

Stacy rolled her eyes. "Grandma can deal with a new hairstyle for one day."

"But on her anniversary?" Stephanie put in. It hadn't crossed her mind to question her sister in her half-asleep state. Everyone knew how much their grandma adored their curls as little girls. And since Stephanie's hair had straightened itself out, she had been especially keen towards Stacy's ringlets.

"She'll be fine. I'll stop by tomorrow after school once I've washed it out." Stacy pushed past the two, heading downstairs for the car. Stephanie shared a look with her mother, who rolled her colorful eyes. Neither of the teenage girls were pleasant in the mornings.

Stacy was pouring coffee into a travel mug when they met again in the kitchen. Coffee was a godsend for the three of them, and the fact that any of them could put together a coherent sentence was a Sunday miracle. Not like stringing words together in a grammatical fashion on the way to church. The only sound heard from the car before the caffeine kicked in was the music from the radio or whatever cassette one of the girls popped in.

The three waltzed into the church, a spring in each of their steps from the added energy of the coffee.

"Jackie!" Someone yelled over the noise of the crowd. Their mother turned at the sound of her name, Stacy and Stephanie trailing behind. Donna was beckoning them toward her and the rest of the family.

"Donna, wow," Jackie nodded appreciatively. "This is most definitely your Sunday best. Given the total lack of plaid and flannel." Their mother was the queen of backhanded compliments.

"Flannel's in style now, Jackie," Donna pointed out, trying not to get annoyed with her best friend. Jackie waved her off, her attention now captured by a distinct laugh that everyone knew all too well. Her daughters smiled brightly at the fast-approaching couple, but Jackie could only stare at the guest accompanying them.

"Oh, Stacy, you straightened your hair," Kitty acknowledged, her tone somewhat disappointed. Stacy nodded her head, and Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Does, doesn't that damage it? All that heat? How long does it normally take?"

"It only takes about 40 minutes, Grandma," Stacy responded. Was her hair really that big of a deal? "And don't worry about the heat. Uncle Fez gave me some heat resistant stuff. I had Steph spray that on my hair first."

Kitty still didn't look assured but remained silent for once in her life. Red let out an annoyed huff at the awkward silence that fell on the group to which Kitty laughed in response.

"Oh my gosh, Hyde!" Eric came up behind his parents to see his childhood best friend. "What are you doing in a church?"

The girls' attention was brought to the stranger whom they had never seen before. Behind them, they heard their mother's sharp breath.

"She cried, man," the man known as Hyde responded. "Can't say no to your mom when she cries, or on her anniversary."

"Just wasn't expecting to see you until lunch," Eric said.

"I also wanted to see if Pastor Dave was still 'hip with the kids.'" The two men shared a knowing laugh. Stephanie snorted loudly, flinching when she felt her mother's palm on her shoulder.

"I don't think Pastor Dave was hip with the kids when he was a kid," she joked. Steph always had a way of getting into conversations; she loved attention.

"'Member when he told us to pray for Kurt Cobain?" Stacy added, pointing at her sister. Jackie laughed loudly behind them, drawing all attention away from her daughters and to herself.

At the sight of the woman, Hyde stepped around the Formans, and his smile fell into a grimace.

"Jackie," he nodded curtly. It was strange to see him nearly twenty years after their last encounter in a hotel room in Chicago. He still wore his shades even though it was a cloudy day.

"Steven," she said just as coolly. She tried to remember the lessons he had given her on "Zen," but she had never been good at keeping her emotions in check. Especially around him or her daughters.

"Well, isn't this nice!" Kitty interrupted their staring contest. "Oh look, the service is about to start."

Jackie sat beside Donna in the pew, trying to make as much space between her and Hyde as possible. Though really, the distance didn't matter. He had been far away for nearly twenty years. But each time she caught a glimpse of him seated next to Mrs. Forman at the complete other end of the pew, she felt flush—not from the humidity. She just wanted to slap him. Even more when she felt his eyes on her during the prayer.

Who was he to come back for the first time since ditching her at that hotel in Chicago? He didn't have the right to look at her! Or be at her church, with her family, standing around her nieces and nephews, her daughters. Oh, dear Lord. _Her daughters_!

Jackie stole a glance at the two girls sitting beside her. Never in her life had Jackie been more thankful that her vanity had been inherited by Stacy. The curls that Mrs. Forman loved so much, gone for the next few days. Maybe longer if Jackie could convince the teen. By then, Hyde would be long gone, and life would go back to normal. Her family would be none the wiser.

But the pointed looks she was earning from Red and Eric were really bursting her bubble. She glared at Eric as if imagining rays going through his skull. He only smirked more evil-like, and Red looked as sympathetic as he could (so just less miffed). Eric chuckled at her, pointing in a joking manner. Jackie stomped her high heel heavily against the stone floor. All eyes and heads turned her way.

Her eyes widened, and she stomped again. "Hallelujah. Amen!" she whooped. Eric only smiled more as he turned back to watching the pastor.

She was definitely going to need to have a talk with him after the service. And by talk, she meant smack-down.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you to all of you who read, reviewed, followed, etc. It meant a great deal to me, especially since this isn't a big fandom anymore since the show had been over for so long. And if you like this chapter, I would absolutely love another review to know if y'all are liking this and if I should continue. Thank you so much! Happy Reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

"You son of a bitch!" Fez came up behind Hyde after the service had ended. Beside the foreign man was a kid, probably around the same age as the two girls he had seen talking with the Formans. "No call, no note, no address! I thought you were dead, you bastard!"

Hyde smiled at the overly sensitive foreigner. "Yeah, I've missed you too, buddy." Out of all the people in the group, Fez would be the easiest to pacify after having the largest outburst. Hyde stuck his hand into his jacket pocket, pulling out a king-sized candy bar. Fez's eyes lit up as he licked his lips.

"Oh, well, all is forgiven." He snatched the candy bar from Hyde, tearing into the wrapping paper like his life depended on it. Fez stuffed the chocolate into his mouth, mumbling incoherently. Hyde eyed the kid standing beside the incredibly odd man, unsure of what to ask. "Ah yes," Fez said thickly from the chocolate. "This is my son, Robbie."

Hyde was thrown for a loop. This kid looked nothing like Fez, and who in the world would want to procreate with that weirdo. But Hyde shook hands with the kid anyway, hoping that Fez would explain the circumstances.

"He's adopted," a new voice explained. Hyde looked to his side where one of the teenaged girls from earlier—the one wearing glasses—was now making faces at Robbie. Robbie rattled off something in Spanish, sticking out his tongue at the girl. The other girl—the one with the stick straight hair—came up behind Robbie and smacked the back of his head.

"And you two are Forman's kids?" he asked. Neither one resembled Donna or Forman, but they had called Mrs. Forman grandma. That had to be the reason why. Though instead of nodding, the girls began cracking up. Even the foreign kid laughed.

"Dear lord no!" Glasses exclaimed. "Blood related to Luke, gross!" Her sister shuddered in response.

Fez had now chosen the time to rejoin the conversation. "Please, do you not see the bone structure? They are most definitely Jackie's daughters!" Hyde could only stare. It was rather obvious. The haughty attitudes, the way they carried themselves, the same noses. If he hadn't been so caught up in seeing Jackie for the first time in a long time, he would have been able to see the signs himself. He wasn't Kelso for goodness sake.

"Stacy." The longer haired girl held out her hand.

"And Stephanie." Glasses also stuck hers out.

"Point Place's Sweethearts," they finished in unison. Hyde shook both of their hands, still in denial of the fact that _Jackie Burkhardt_ was a mother. She had always been one of the least nurturing people he'd known. Her shrill voice was not the sound babies heard and giggled at. She was a devil, and devils didn't have children for good reason.

"More like Point Place's Demons," Robbie stuck in with a heavily accented voice. His laughter was cut short by Stephanie's fist ramming into his stomach, and Stacy's palm smacking his back. "Aye!"

"Say it again, and you'll have to go to school in a backpack," Stephanie told him menacingly. Hyde had to nod in approval. Jackie's kids seemed cool, not a term he ever thought to be using in regards to that woman or her relatives of any sort, but he could get behind using it to describe the girls.

Hyde leaned a bit closer to Fez. "Where's Jackie's husband? I kinda wanna see the poor fool who got shackled with her." His tone was biter, and Fez knew that he wasn't asking out of curiosity but spite.

"She's not married," the foreigner whispered. Hyde couldn't help the smile that phrase brought to his lips. Jackie wasn't married. She had gotten pregnant and wasn't able to tie down her kids' father. It was hilarious. Served her right for giving him an ultimatum.

Before the conversation could continue, the devil herself was standing before them, yanking her daughters off the poor foreign boy. "We're in a church!" she admonished them, straightening her dress.

"Didn't stop you and Kelso," Hyde muttered. Her vampire hearing—as he liked to call it—caught his words, and he could just see the difficult time she had restraining herself from copying her children's actions. Instead, she composed herself, holding tightly to the collars of her daughters' dresses. Robbie hugged the woman, sticking his tongue out at the twins. Stacy jutted her arm out, making Robbie jump a few feet away.

"It's time to go to the Formans,'" she directed her words to the girls, but Hyde knew that she was talking to him and Fez as well.

She sashayed away, a firm grip on the twins' arms. And despite the absolute loathing he felt towards her, Hyde couldn't help but stare at her swinging hips, or think about how hot she looked taking charge of her rowdy daughters.

XXX

He was able to corner Forman once they got back to the house. He had come up behind the spindly man, twisted his arm, and dragged him into the side den that no one ever went into. "You didn't think to tell me that Jackie had kids?" He was angry, but he had no idea why.

"Kelso didn't know about them until they were five so…" Eric deadpanned.

"They're Kelso's?" For some odd reason that didn't sit right with him. Being Kelsos was probably worse than demon spawn. Eric laughed at the question.

"Did you see them eating dirt? No, he and Brooke got married. You were at the wedding. Why does it matter who the devil's children's father is anyway?" he pointed. Hyde shook his head.

"It doesn't," he gritted out. "Just want a good burn." He removed his sunglasses for a hot second, and Eric chuckled to himself.

He knew the truth of course. But no one outside of Red, Donna, and him knew. Kitty couldn't keep a secret like that from anyone, especially Hyde. Kelso and Fez both blurted out things when the slightest bit tipsy. Not to mention he had known from the moment neither of the girls' eyes changed from blue to whatever color Jackie's were, and their hair had curled at the first use of a comb. Not to mention is was his given right as godfather to know the origins of the man who had knocked up the devil.

But regardless of the totally wicked burn, Eric couldn't bring himself in that moment to tell his best friend the truth. Because if he was being honest, in the 19 years that Hyde had been gone, Jackie had sort of replaced that best friend shaped hole in his life.

Although, that didn't mean he couldn't have a little fun with it.

"No way," he gasped, mockingly bringing his hand to his mouth. "You think your—"

"No, I don't." Hyde clenched his fist. But Eric didn't shy away. He could definitely use this as a burn on Hyde in replace of how he wished to burn Jackie.

"Well have I got news for you buddy," Eric played it up like he was going to confirm the denied suspicions. "The father of Jackie's twins…" he paused for dramatic affect. "Isn't you." Though with his words, Eric felt torn. He had just totally saved Jackie's ass (he never thought he would take that route) and blatantly lied to his best friend. One half said he should just do it, let Jackie deal with her consequences of not telling Hyde years ago, but the other half knew that it wasn't his information to share. Damn his teacher ethics!

"Forman, _I know_ ," Hyde said. "I told you it was for a burn." He then rushed from the scene. He couldn't stand to be around Forman or his smug smile any longer. Thankfully, they were both called away when Kitty yelled that lunch was ready.

Regardless of the denying he'd done moments before and Forman's confirmation, Hyde couldn't help but study the way that the twins acted. The food was announced, and they raced from the piano bench, getting into a fight halfway through the living room. They tackled each other to the ground, yelling obscenities, and oddly laughing. They just seemed eerily familiar to him. He must have seen them at Kelso's wedding.

"Girls!" Jackie's screech brought all three of them back to reality, and the girls were then flying to the kitchen table. Hyde moseyed over to the swinging door, expecting Jackie to keep holding open for him. She stared him in the eyes, waited till the last possible second, and as he was about the enter the kitchen, she let go. Allowing the door to swing right into his face.

He grumbled before stepping into the kitchen. No more Mister nice Hyde.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Ok, so I totally didn't plan to go this way with the story at all, but I did. It's a first, and I haven't done a story with this plot that goes the way I've done it here. I've done many stories with similar plots, but the way this is going. Never thought I'd write it that way. Well, I think it turned out well. Probably helped that I listened to Led Zeppelin for the second half of writing it. Anyway, I hope you all like this chapter, and if you did (even though it's a long one), please please review! It helps me to go because well it gives me motivation and hope. Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

The worst part of it all was that Red had warned her. She had known about Steven returning for at least a week, and she thought she had mentally prepared herself enough. That was until she saw his curly hair in the crowd, and felt his aloofness. Her little outburst at church had probably been the subject of his conversation with Eric, and Jackie made it very aware that she was angry at Eric when she swiftly kicked him in the shins while in line for lunch. That, along with swinging the door in Steven's face, was enough to know she meant business.

She remained in the kitchen for as long as possible, watching the girls eat their food, before finally heading towards the dining room where the other adults sat. Jackie nearly turned back around to go and eat with the kids when she gleaned the only available chair was beside _him_. But she was a lady, so she quietly took the seat beside Steven, avoiding all eye contact. She could feel his glare anyway; she didn't need to turn her chin the slightest bit to know that he was looking at her. She smiled with pride.

Over all, it was a rather stinted affair. The children were easily heard from the kitchen, and the mindless chatter was at a minimum for the adults. Eric stifled a couple groans whenever Jackie saw fit to kick him, and Donna only glanced at him with each twinge of pain. Kitty tried as much as possible to keep the conversation going, but the elephant was in the room, and _no one_ was willing to bring it up. Not even the ever-oblivious Fez.

Jackie caught Eric looking between her and Steven again, and she jabbed her heel forward to catch his toes. "You know what!" he exclaimed, finger poised in the air. The whole table looked to him, and he grew sheepish. "I just now realized that Kelso and Brooke aren't here yet…"

"I knew I felt smarter for a reason." Red nodded towards his son.

"Oh! Remember, they couldn't make it because they had to take Betsy back to school," Kitty pointed out. Jackie felt Steven perk up beside her at the mention of Betsy. She didn't know the last time he had seen their goddaughter, but she felt safe assuming he hadn't seen her in the eighteen years he'd been gone.

"Oh yeah, Steven, you probably wouldn't know it, but our goddaughter was smart enough to get into college," she sneered, but kept her gaze firmly on her fork. He didn't deserve to have her look at him.

"No, Kelso told me," his tone was even, and that annoyed Jackie to no end. "Betsy told me all about it when she came to visit last summer." He snickered as Jackie now glared at her asparagus.

Eric stared blankly at his friend. He hadn't known Hyde still talked to Kelso, in depth at least. The last Eric had heard Hyde and Kelso had seen each other, let alone talked, was at Kelso's wedding. Jackie hadn't been there since the girls had come down with the flu that week, giving her yet another way to avoid Hyde. They were going to have more things to hash out later.

Hyde continued to glare at Jackie; no one else spoke, waiting with bated breath for the loud one's response. The deafening silence was quickly broken, not by Jackie, but by an excited yell from the kitchen.

"I'm a fucking lady!"

Jackie rose to her feet, the previous conversation forgotten as she screeched, "Stephanie!" Her utensils were left clanking on the plate in her wake.

In the kitchen, her daughter sat rigid, prepared for the verbal discipline coming her way. Steph tensed when her mother's grip pulled her from her spot to the living room. The children were now silenced, and the adults craned their necks towards the den to listen better. Jackie's arms were crossed, and Stephanie cowered under her stare.

"Mom, I was just… Stace and Luke were…" she rambled on, coming up with excuses left and right. She claimed that the other kids had found it funny, and she claimed it was for her dignity. With each excuse, Jackie grew angrier.

"Don't talk," she held her daughter's wrist. "You know you're not supposed to use that kind of language. Around your sister, around your friends, around me, around the little kids, and especially not in your grandparents' home. I am not going to let their anniversary be ruined because of your mouth. Now, go upstairs. Don't even think about coming back until I get you."

Stephanie rolled her eyes. "Mom, you're treating me like a frickin' little kid! I shouldn't have to go upstairs because I said a bad word!"

"I said, not to talk. I will treat you as a little kid as long as you act like one. Fighting with Robbie at church—"

"Stacy did that too!"

Jackie's finger flew up to silence her daughter. "What did I just say? You don't know when to shut your mouth, Stephanie. Don't roll your eyes at me! This is why I am punishing you like a child should be. Now, go upstairs."

Stephanie opened her mouth to fight back, but the glower on her mother's face dissuaded her from doing so. "What-ever," she grit out, softly stomping up the stairs. Jackie almost ran up the stairs after the teenager, but didn't. They had already caused too much of a scene.

She sauntered back through the kitchen door to look pointedly at her other child. "Don't you even think about it, Stacy."

When she returned to the dining room, all eyes were on her. Jackie knew each of them had most likely taken turns listening in the den. "Dumbass," she muttered, and Red beamed with pride.

"Couldn't have said it better myself," he raised his beer to his surrogate daughter. Kitty shot him a look, and he lowered the can.

"Jackie, I understand why you're upset, but don't you think that Stephanie could come back down. It is our anniversary after all," Kitty laughed loudly. "And we wanted to spend it with our grandchildren."

"I didn't!" Red jumped in again. Kitty tilted her head and cocked her eyebrow at him.

"I'm just gonna leave her up there for a little bit. Let her know I mean business." Jackie gestured upstairs with her hands. She went back to her food once again. Ignoring everyone around her. Once again, she felt Steven's gaze, but it was softer now. And for some reason, that made her angry. Hell, the fact that he was here made her angry. She was justified in it.

"What do you want, Steven?" she growled at him.

"Hey, where did that come from? I was just enjoying my lunch." He held up his hands, taking on an act of innocence. The whole room had felt the tension; they had known this would happen, it was just a matter of when.

"'Where did that come from?' Have we not been sitting in the same room? We're all surprised you two haven't burned each other beyond compare!" Donna yelled at them. Now, the two adults looked each other square in the face.

"Steven already looked like his feet were burning enough each step he took in the church," Jackie threw the first shot.

"Oh yeah," Hyde smirked widely. "And I thought Jackie got the lifetime guarantee burn when her baby daddy left her." Never had a statement silenced a room as quickly as that. Red, Donna, and Eric gaped at him, anger evident on their faces. Fez and Mrs. Forman looked shocked. He waited for the choruses of burn, but they never came.

Hyde tentatively look at Jackie, and he was overtaken with guilt (which was not a normal occurrence). One hand was placed on her stomach, the other on her forehead. She breathed deeply, closed her eyes, and her face crumpled. Quickly, she composed herself long enough to yell at him.

"Fuck you, Steven Hyde. Fuck you!" She rushed from the room. She told herself that she wouldn't let him get to her, that he would be gone in a few days, and life would return to normal. She would have her girls to herself, and he would be none the wiser. He would go back to wherever the hell he lived now, and she would be happy with her daughters. They never needed him before, and they didn't need him now.

Flinging herself onto the basement couch, Jackie let out a sob. His burn stung. The way he looked through her, not a care as to how he could affect her, it brought back memories.

Before she knew it, she was back in '79. She lay on the cold table in the doctor's office. Her hand ran over her bloated stomach, curving too far outward to be normal. She had been eating a whole lot more lately to cope with Steven being gone, and that had to be the explanation. Nothing else made sense. Nothing that would keep her up at all ours of the night, and nothing that would have to love her no matter what because she unconditionally loved that nothing.

She had known the answer before the doctor came back with her test results.

She then went back to the Formans'. She made her way to the basement, going down the back staircase. She didn't want to see anyone right now. She didn't want to tell Mrs. Forman that she would be getting her first grandbaby in seven months' time. She instead stumbled down the stone steps, threw the door wide open, and breathed in relief that no one was there. But on the inside, she was anguished to not see Steven sitting in his normal seat.

She moved to his bedroom. She fell onto the mattress, sniffing loudly. It still smelled like him. She cried harder. She had at some point fallen asleep on his bed that day, and she was woken to the sound of Donna and Fez puttering around outside. She remained in his room far after they had left, and she wasn't found again until the next day, wearing his Led Zeppelin t-shirt, her hand resting on her slightly rounded stomach.

"Jackie!" She was brought from her reverie of one of the worst days of her life. Despite all the good it had brought her, she had never felt more helpless than at that moment. It was dumb that she would feel that helpless again. "Jackie."

It was Steven. The man she had hoped so many times to come back to her. To be there through her pregnancy, having figured it out through some sort of telepathy. It was dumb and foolish to think that way, but as a single mother at nineteen, she had to have fantasies.

"Look, Jackie, that was… it was totally uncalled for. And I'm, I'm sorry."

"I have single handedly raised two daughters, Steven. Two! Without any help. Do you think I wanted to be a single mother right out of high school? Do you think I wanted to work two jobs, barely get home in time to kiss my girls goodnight, and then leave to go to my third job just to make ends meet? And now you come back here after nineteen fucking years, having done nothing for yourself, burning me about a touchy subject, and you think one fucking sorry is gonna cut it? No, Steven, I stand by what I said earlier. Fuck you!" Jackie was crying again, ugly crying, and she hated it. He couldn't come in here, make a fool of her, and watch her cry over what he said.

He kept his stance, though, even as she fell back down to the couch. "Right out of…? High school? But we…" He worked it through in his head. "Jackie, are they… are the twins…" he couldn't finish the thought.

Eric hadn't ratted her out. She knew this to be true now. Jackie didn't want to tell Steven the truth, and thanks to Eric, she might not have to. "No, Steven. Eric told you they weren't, and he was telling the truth." Jackie could feel her heart shatter just a bit as she placed another nail in her coffin.

She could tell he didn't believe her, and frankly, she didn't care. Eric had told him, and now he was hearing it straight from her. He had no reason to go ahead and think that her children could possibly be his. Except for the fact that they were. But after today, Jackie would lie until the cows came home to ensure that he didn't have this other thing above her head.

"You're sure?" His question angered her.

"Yes, Steven, I'm sure. What kind of slut do you take me to be that I don't know the father of my children?" She had finally gotten over the tears, and she was back to her normal defensive self. Hyde still didn't look impressed with her response.

"Then who is he?" Jackie hadn't been prepared for that question. She could say who her children's father wasn't, no problem, but who he was… a whole different story. Hyde could tell from her flicker of uneasiness that he had caught her in her own trap. "It's me!" he yelled when she still didn't respond.

"No! No! It's not you! It was Chip, ok? We hooked up after you left, and he didn't want anything to do with me after I told him about the girls. God, I didn't want to be talking about this today. Why couldn't you have just left it alone?" She hung her head. Hyde held his hand up, preparing to comfort her like he did growing up. When she used to run to him about everything.

He opened and closed his mouth, unsure of what to say next. Jackie was putting on quite the show, but there was something in him that knew differently. No matter how many times she denied it, he had a strong feeling that those two girls upstairs belonged to him, not that jerk from the Veteran's Day barbeque years ago.

"I'm sorry, Jackie," he muttered, turning towards the stairs.

"Whatever, Steven." She brushed past him, refusing to acknowledge the spark it ignited when they touched for the first time in nineteen years. He let her go first, lightly touching the spot she had bumped into him.

He rejoined the party a few minutes later when he realized that Jackie had gotten her daughter from solitary confinement. Stephanie, that was her name. He should have seen the signs earlier from the name alone. She was named for him after all, not for that Chip idiot.

Stephanie and Stacy were planted on the piano bench playing "Piano Man." Around them, everyone was singing along, besides Red. Jackie was seated on the arm of the couch closest to the piano—Kitty and Red had traded the organ in for a piano when the girls wanted to learn, but Jackie didn't have enough to buy one—with one of Eric's kids on her lap. The youngest, and most red haired, of the three was expertly waiting for the girls to finish playing.

"Stephie, play the princess who looks like me!" Miriam exclaimed. Stephanie smiled brightly at the child, plunking out a few random notes.

"The new princess or the mermaid?" she asked the five-year-old.

"The new princess! The past song." the little girl said before jumping from her aunt's lap to her mother's. The twins shared bemused looks before Stephanie tickled the ivory's some more as Stacy sang.

" _Heart don't fail me now, courage don't desert me, don't turn back now that we're here_ …" Miriam tried to hum along, but lost the words along the way. Hyde remained frozen in the back of the room. No one had noticed his entry, and he was more than happy to take the moment to absorb all that was going on.

He watched Steph take to the keys with such precision, and Stacy hit every note perfectly. Which could be seen as surprising, since their mother was not known for her singing voice. This must be a normal occurrence, and Hyde was sorry he had missed out on family moments like these. The father of Jackie's kids be damned, he had missed out on spending time with his family doing one of the best things known to man (listening to music) because he had been too stubborn to marry the woman he loved.

Robbie shouted for the girls to play an ABBA song, but for once Hyde didn't mind the horrible disco music. They harmonized perfectly, and never in his life, had Hyde actually enjoyed listening to ABBA like in this moment. Not even when he was with Jackie. Donna then yelled "Hey Jude," and the girls eagerly began.

Hyde had to admit that Steph and Stacy had pretty good taste in music (besides "Our Last Summer" which totally did _not_ strike a chord with him one bit). It probably helped to have all of Forman's records in the basement, and Donna for an aunt, but Hyde felt that if these were his kids, then he could be the reason. But that was sappy and stupid and something that would be said in a dumb sitcom. An absent parent can't influence music choice, at least not his knowledge. And what if Jackie was telling the truth, and he wasn't the girls' father? What would that mean for their music taste?

The curly haired man took another sip from his beer, his mouth had gone dry thinking about the possibility of him being a father. He wasn't the father type, the marrying type; he wasn't a type! But watching the girls play a medley of songs, songs that he really liked, kind of made him wonder. Would he have been willing to step in had he known about them? Or if he was to have kids—considering the twins weren't his—could he ever be the father type? Still, he really liked the idea of these super cool girls being his daughters too. A part of him and a part of Jackie. If it were at all possible, and the world wanted to fall off it's axis.

Luke had chosen the next song that Hyde payed attention to. Out of all the music he detested in the 80s, he did like "Every Breath You Take." He needed the whole song to get the nerve to request a song himself. A test if you will. His own fake paternity test that made no sense in the eyes of medicine or psychology, but would put some old dogs to rest. This last test would either ease his mind or send him over the edge, and he didn't know which he preferred.

Hyde coughed, grabbing everyone's attention. Jackie glared at him, but he didn't care. He might have a set of kids, waiting for a father. He took a sip from his beer again, mouth still dry due to nerves—no not nerves, something else, he was Zen he didn't get nervous—before he could finally say what he wanted.

"'Babe I'm Gonna Leave You.'" The girls' bore cheek splitting grins, their mother frowned.

"You brought the paper, right?" Stephanie asked her twin. Stacy was already bolting out the door. When she returned she had a stack of papers as thick as a book. "I didn't mean all of it, but hey…" Stephanie smiled, grabbing the right sheet before going to town on the piano.

Stacy handed the rest of the pages to a surprised Hyde. He looked through them all. Every single Zeppelin song known to man, transposed for the piano by the twins.

Jackie glanced at him, and his awestruck gaping at the music. Their eyes met across the room. Her face bore no emotions, and she thought she might still have him fooled. But Hyde smiled as he looked between the music and the twins singing Zeppelin.

There wasn't a single doubt in his mind that those were his girls.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Hi everyone! Wow can I just say thank you for all the reviews! It means a whole lot to me. I haven't got much to say about this chapter, but I surprisingly like where this is going, and I hope you do too! This chapter is kind of a filler, if I'm being honest. But it's like super important at the same time, you know? It's got some backstory, some history, some stuff about the girls. Not much action though... Oh well... Next week maybe. I also realized I inadvertently began making this a schedule for every Monday, so I hope to keep that up. To be like a light spot in the dark of beginning the week. Well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter too! It would really make me feel awesome if you kept on reviewing. Happy reading!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

Jackie listened intently as the phone rang in her left ear. She waited patiently for Kitty to answer the phone, hoped Kitty would be the one to answer it. She didn't need another showdown with Steven one day after their previous fight. She wanted to avoid Steven at all costs until he returned to wherever he had been staying. She couldn't think about his soft tone he had used during his apology, or the flutter in her stomach when they brushed shoulders, or the way that he smiled when the girls played the piano.

"Hello?" a gruff voice broke her away from her thoughts. Jackie froze. "Hello?" he asked again.

"Steven?" she asked. She heard him shift the phone and sigh, but he was silent otherwise. "Steven, is Mrs.… I need to talk to—"

"She's not here," he response was curt. Jackie leaned against the counter by the cradle. She rolled her eyes and breathed deeply in and out. She didn't have anything else to say to him, but she needed to leave her message with Kitty, or at least tell her to call back.

"Could you, would you tell her that I called? And to call me back." She began to move the receiver from her ear, but she didn't hang up before he said her name on the other end. "Steven, will you please just leave the message?" her voice was stronger than either of them had expected.

"Yeah, ok, but, Jackie… we really need to talk. About…" he didn't finish, and she didn't want him to.

"There's nothing _to_ talk about, Steven." Jackie rammed her palm against the counter then bit her lip to keep herself from yelping in pain. In the next room, the music stopped, and Jackie could hear extra breaths on the line that didn't belong to her nor Hyde.

"Jackie… I'm, uh, I'm moving back… WB needs someone to run the Point Place store, and… I said yes." She couldn't believe what she was hearing. How many times had she longed to hear those very words over the years? Wasn't this always what she wanted? He was staying, and it was for her. Or, the girls. That much she knew to be true. The look on his face yesterday said it all. He knew she lied, and the awe etched on his face when the girls played for him, it should have brought her to tears.

"And I should care because…?" Jackie normally hated talking on the phone, but now it was another barrier that she needed to hide her emotions. On the phone, she could keep a cool tone without worrying about the emotions being displayed on her face. On the phone, they were in different houses, and she could use that to keep herself from doing or saying things she would regret. Maybe they should have only talked on the phone back in the day.

"Because… because—whatever, you shouldn't." And he promptly slammed the phone back onto the cradle. Jackie still held the receiver in her hand, her fingers twisting the cord. She screamed into the phone and stomped her feet. The girls audibly hissed in pain before placing the other phone back. Their music resumed, and Jackie held her feet in place to keep from yelling at them for listening in on her phone call. It was a rather juicy call though, and she knew that at their age, she would have done the same thing.

It was stupid. So, so stupid that he could make her feel this way. Jackie was a strong, independent, single-mother. She didn't need him! She had raised his children without him for their entire lives. The girls had never once indicated they felt they needed a father, that she wasn't enough. The three of them were close, all they needed was each other. They had never needed men. They had Mr. Forman and Eric and Fez and Michael. They were fine. Jackie was fine.

Well, sometimes she wasn't fine. There were nights when the twins were really little, and Jackie wished that there was someone to share the load with her. There were nights when they lived at the Formans', and Stephanie wouldn't stop crying, and the only way to make her stop was for Jackie to wear some of Steven's clothes that he had never taken when he left town. Or the time that Stacy had chicken pox—a two-year-old with chicken pox who needed to be separated from her sister wasn't easy—and the only way to help her fall asleep were his records. Jackie hadn't realized how much Steven had influenced her children even though he hadn't known about them or been there.

That was what bothered her the most about him returning to town. He _hadn't_ been there. He came back for the first time in nineteen years, discovers he has kids, and thinks he can just stick around now, and it'll fix everything? It wouldn't. The twins didn't even know who their father was. Jackie wasn't going to drop this kind of bombshell on them because said father has shown up out of the blue. It wouldn't be fair to them, and nothing about this situation was fair to her.

Jackie liked to believe she was a good mother. Granted, she had only been nineteen when she found out she was pregnant, and her boyfriend had run for the hills. She had smiled through the pain, the loneliness, the stares, the whispers. She gave birth to not one, but two baby girls. She worked three jobs to save enough money to move out of the Formans' house. She had done all of that when the world was telling her she couldn't. She was emotionally there for her children, and they knew they were always able to talk to her about anything. Nothing was awkward or weird for them. She had raised two phenomenal, moral girls. All by herself.

But, damn. The nights she spent fantasizing about his return. At first, she had imagined he would come back during her pregnancy. He would cry before getting down on one knee begging her to take him back. Then he hadn't shown up while she was pregnant, so her fantasies shifted. The girls were newborns; he would walk into her hospital room, hold all of them while softly confessing his love to her and their children. Wrong again. The girls were toddlers sitting in the shopping cart; she would accidentally bump into him at the grocery, and he would take one look at the girls and cry while profusely apologizing for missing the first few years. By the time the girls reached ten, Jackie stopped her dreaming and returned to reality.

This wasn't how she had planned his homecoming. She hadn't wanted to fight with him. She wanted to fall into his arms, let him kiss her senseless before asking her all about the twins. And she would tell him that Stephanie was in choir, and Stacy was a cheerleader. They were different yet similar in so many ways. They had grown up listening to rock n' roll like he would have wanted, but were still influenced by disco and pop music. Instead, she slammed a door in his face and lied, and he remained Zen and aloof.

The worst of it all, she still wanted to kiss him senseless. They fought, and it reminded her of their younger days. He still had it, and Jackie knew that she was just as hot. She had felt the spark between them, and she had wanted him then. His gruff answer on the phone hadn't helped her longing. She was beginning to sound like Fez with needs. Having kids really didn't help a woman score a lot of dates.

Jackie sat down at the kitchen table, fanning herself the slightest bit. Her face flushed the more she thought about him, about them, about things that took place between them. Those things that had led to her daughters. Jackie shuddered lightly. They had always been good at that.

The phone rang, and Jackie jumped to grab it. Her stomach fluttered when she thought it may be Steven, and she could barely maintain a normal pitch as she attempted to say a single word. It wasn't Steven, though. Her heart still thumped like a jack hammer as Mrs. Forman rambled about her baby coming home before asking what Jackie had needed to talk to her about. Jackie took a deep breath before going into the details pertaining Donna and Eric's surprise anniversary party. Her desires were going to have to wait.

XXX

Hyde was pacing in the basement. His call with Jackie hadn't gone as he had planned. Knowing her, he had expected some big reaction to his announcement. Not the aloof response he was given. What more could he do? He missed out on his kids' lives (thanks to her), and he was moving back to be a part of their lives (and hers), and he had a job all lined up. There was nothing left for her to ask of him.

But just because he was moving back to be with them didn't mean he wasn't angry. No, he was furious. He kept in contact with Forman and Kelso, so there was no excuse that he was unreachable. Maybe if she called, he would have scoffed at her, made a joke about her lying and the baby being Kelso's; but he knew she would persist, and it would have eventually gotten through his skull. He would have been back in this town before someone could say diaper. But she hadn't.

She had kept those two girls away from him then had the audacity to lie to him. Tell him they weren't his when it was obvious they were. Ok, so he hadn't seen it at first, but the more he thought about it, the more startlingly true it became. Thinking about the twins, _his daughters_ , growing up without him, Hyde wanted to break something. Not to mention, they probably hated his guts. Who knew what sort of lies Jackie had spun up for them throughout the years.

At this point, all Hyde wanted was to get to know them. When they had wanted piano lessons. What kind of pranks they pulled at the school. The pranks they pulled on Robbie. Who was better at burns, Stacy or Stephanie? What they liked to do together, and things they liked to do separate. It had only been one day, and he was already going mushy.

He couldn't help but think about what might have been. If he had been there to watch them grow up, would they still be who they were today? Would he be married to Jackie, or just co-parenting? He liked to think that he would have been stern, but Hyde already knew after just meeting them that he would have been putty in their hands. But those were the things he had missed out on! All of it. The sick days, the whining and crying, the bossiness they had inherited from their mother. He had missed so much, and he didn't want to miss anymore. Hyde never had a father, and he never thought he would be one himself, but there had been a time forever ago when he thought it wouldn't have been horrible. He had told himself he would be there, but his choice was made for him without him knowing.

He finally grew tired of pacing. Hyde had thought too long and too hard on a problem he couldn't change. He put a record on—he evilly eyed the boom box as the needle found the groove; CDs were convenient, but nothing beat the sound of a crackle before opening chords—then sat back on the edge of the couch. On the coffee table before him was a picture book. After last night's disaster, Red had "accidentally" left it in the basement while grabbing a beer.

Hyde hadn't been able to tear himself away from it for long. He had studied each picture until they were seared into his mind forever. The first few were of Jackie. She was smiling brightly with her hands resting on her stomach. She was laughing at a baby shower. She was near tears while looking at a made-up room for her and the babies. Then, Jackie was in a hospital bed; her hands were raised to block herself from the camera, but he could see the smile she wore while not in pain.

After that, there was a picture of the twins. Faces red and mouths open mid squawk with pink beanies covering their bald heads. The next were of a tired Jackie cuddling the twins. One photo with each girl, and a few with both. A lot of the pictures at the beginning were from the day the girls were born. Each family member was given a chance to hold them, and Hyde's heart clenched. He pounded on his chest, taking it all in again.

The following pages were filled with the girls slowly but surely growing. His breath caught in his throat when he stared at a picture of Jackie holding a sleeping Stephanie. She wore his shirt, and her smile was tight and tired. She wore a few of his clothes throughout a lot of the photos, Hyde noticed this time around. There was even a picture of Stacy, sick with the chicken pox and fever, lying on the mustard couch dressed in the Led Zeppelin shirt he gave to Jackie for her birthday. Then Stephanie wearing it, looking intently at her arm as she awaited the dots to appear on her skin.

The photos graduated to school age. Hyde looked at the girls wearing matching dresses to their first day of kindergarten while Jackie stood behind them and cried. There was a picture for each first and last day, and depending on the grade and activities done, a few pictures were taken in between. Two pictures were for career day; Stephanie was sitting on the hood of a car in the garage wearing the shirt Red had gotten custom made when he thought Hyde would be working at the muffler shop with him, and the other was of Stacy—holding a shiny clipboard and pink pen—following Jackie around at the TV station to do people's make up and hair. There were pictures of fieldtrips, the girls hitting Robbie or following Betsy around, a few family vacations with the Formans. So much that shaped who the girls had come to be.

Hyde flipped the last page long after the music had finished. He hadn't noticed. His attention held by the life he had missed out on. He felt stupid, incredibly stupid. The emotions swirled inside him, and his face pinched in a grossed-out expression. He didn't have emotions, not strong ones; and he didn't feel regret, often. He was Hyde, an aloof jackass. He didn't have feelings about children or his ex-girlfriend. It wasn't in his nature.

He'd gone soft. No, he was just dealing with so much information at once that it messed with his head. That had to be the case of this mushy, lovey crap he felt in his chest. He didn't care that Jackie didn't care that he was staying in town. He didn't care what she'd told their kids about him. He didn't care… before.

Because if Hyde was being truly honest—it only came around once in a blue moon—he really did care. He was crushed. Not that anyone would know that. Jackie, especially, could never know how much he felt and cared in that moment. He had to stick to his guns, and not think about how hot she had looked in those pictures or how hot she sounded on the phone. Hyde _really_ couldn't think about how much he wanted her, about how much he loved her.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: Hey everybody! So yeah, that schedule I was talking about… didn't keep to it lol. Well, I've been crazy busy finishing up school and going to the hospital and a bunch of other crap. Frankly I shouldn't be writing anything right now cause I have exams soon, but I wanted to finish this chapter. And I've been thinking about Jackie and Hyde a lot… but I'm blaming that on the hospital because the channel I was watching there was only playing season 8, and I just wanted to fix everything! So I'm fixing stuff… or not. You decide. Well, enjoy and review! Sorry about the delay.**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing**

The kitchen was cast in shadows; the only light came from the sliding glass door. Stacy grabbed the handle and threw her hand to make the door slide open. She stepped in, eyes roaming. Stephanie came up behind her, keys in her hands, a smirk on her lips. It wasn't often that their grandparents weren't home, but it was kind of fun.

"Hello?" Stacy called farther into the house. No one responded. She yelled again. Nothing.

"We're stealing your food and drinks!" Stephanie sang, making her way to the refrigerator. She reached for the handle and threw it open, but a tin of brownies caught her attention instead. She lunged for them as the fridge door slammed shut. Stacy jumped, and Steph laughed.

Stacy twirled one of her curls on her finger and glanced at the clock. "It's not like Grandma to forget we're coming over…" Her eyebrows furrowed, and her lips turned downwards in a frown. Stephanie shrugged and handed her one of the brownies. Stacy took it but continued looking between her watch and the clock on the stove.

"Come on, we're here for practice, so it's not like we'd be talking to her much anyway." Steph walked to the swinging door that led to the living room. Tuesdays were piano days. Didn't matter whether the teacher was coming to them, or they were just trying some stuff out. The days that their teacher didn't come over were always more fun since they didn't need to play some frou-frou song and could focus on the music they preferred.

Stephanie was the first on the piano bench, and she groaned when she saw how long Stacy was taking to walk ten feet. She played the first few notes to "Piano Man," but Stacy continued her slow pace. Then Steph played "Don't Stop Believin" and got nothing.

"Do you think it has something to do with that Hyde dude?" Stacy's mind was always somewhere else. Stephanie slumped in the chair, stared longingly at the music, then frowned at her sister.

"The only thing I think of something having to do with that guy is 'Sunglasses at Night.'" She played that as well. " _I wear my sunglasses at night so I can, so I can_ …" Steph trailed off when she saw Stacy still unmoving, her head turning about the room. "Oh my gosh, Stace! Who cares? We can be as loud as we want without having to worry about Grandpa getting mad!" The blue-eyed girl began playing "The Phantom of the Opera" in fortissimo.

"I'm gonna go call Robbie," Stacy said, turned around, and ran for the kitchen. Stephanie rolled her eyes and turned back to the piano; she played the theme song for _Gone With the Wind_ (it was the piece she chose for the next recital) as best she could from memory.

Stacy returned after a few minutes, a smile plastered on her face. She jumped and startled Stephanie. "I got a great idea! So I called Robbie, and he's walking over now. You're gonna play '(I've had) the Time of My Life,' and we're gonna practice the dance." She clapped and jumped again. Steph forgot about her sister and Robbie's dance routine they were working on for next month's competition. It was oddly enough movie themed, or at least the songs were, so they needed to have a routine that wasn't exactly like the _Dirty Dancing_ scene but similar.

"Whatever," Stephanie said and returned to the piano. Lately, she had been the one who played while Stacy sang or danced. It was fine, she guessed, but sometimes she wanted to dance too. Not that she was any good; it was just fun. She preferred swing dancing to ballroom or contemporary. Their grandma had spent an entire afternoon teaching them and Robbie all the different moves they could do. Occasionally, they would go out with their small group of friends and have a laugh.

" _Don't switch the blade on the guy in shades, oh no. Don't masquerade with the guy in shades, oh no_ ," Stephanie hit the chords and bobbed her head along with the tune. "Damn, stuck in my head now…" She continued to play the pop song, smiling at her sister.

" _Well, she's deceiving me. Cuts my security. Has she got a hold of me? I turn to her and say…_ " Stacy couldn't help but give in while they waited for their foreign friend. In seconds flat, they were having another one of their famous jam sessions. Just the girls and their piano—their grandparents' piano. Both were enjoying themselves too much to hear the creeping footsteps from the kitchen.

Hyde stood frozen at the swinging door. The twins hadn't left his mind in two days, and here they were playing his surrogate parents' piano on a Tuesday afternoon. He took it all in. The trance they went into while not performing. The little dances Stacy made up on the spot, the way Steph's head moved with the beat, the sound of their voices harmonizing. He had helped create those girls. He was turning into such a sap.

" _I cry to you_!" Stacy whipped her head around to the song. Her curly hair flying in every direction. It was in that moment that the girls finally realized they had a visitor. Stacy and Stephanie locked eyes (his eyes!) before smiling shyly.

"Sorry. We didn't think anyone was around…" Steph said as she closed the lid the piano. Hyde nodded and sat in Red's green chair. The three stared at each other, and the awkward tension was so thick that it could be cut with a knife. Hyde longed to ask questions he didn't deserve the answers to. He pursed his lips, running his fingers over them in a nervous habit. Stacy tugged on her hair, eyeing the man warily. Stephanie slowly opened the lid again, playing "Stairway to Heaven."

"You like Zeppelin, right?" she asked, but even if he didn't, she wouldn't stop playing. She assumed he did from his song request the other day, but the last assumption either of them had made ended in their Uncle Fez storming out the back door.

Hyde smirked to himself, "Hell yeah." He shook his fist lightly in front of his chest. Stephanie smiled, but Stacy still seemed unnerved. Hyde took note of her crossed arms and possible glare. She stared at him, eyes narrowing as she scrutinized him.

He moved slightly under her gaze, so that his arms were at his side and his legs crossed in an unmenacing fashion. For once in his life, Hyde wanted to look approachable. Stacy flicked her head back to her sister though, having lost interest or given up on her investigation of him, and quietly hummed the words to the song and sat down. Hyde sighed. He knew full well that Jackie must have badmouthed him from the disinterest the girls showed.

"What… uh, what else do you girls like?" he found himself asking. He mentally kicked himself for sounding stupid and desperate. "Music wise," he coughed out an explanation.

The girls shared an amused look. Steph giggled a bit, and Stacy smiled at him for real. "Most stuff," they said in unison. Hyde nearly did a double take. Weird looks he could deal with, but _The Shining_ talk, no thanks.

He blanched at them, and almost got an answer. Almost got to know these kids. Almost.

Before the girls could tell him what "most stuff" meant, Robbie barged through the swinging door.

"Who's ready to do the Pechanga?" The teenager rolled his hips in a disturbing and Fez-like way. Neither girl was phased.

"I'd like to kick you in the Pechanga," Stephanie deadpanned. Robbie smiled and made his way to the side of the piano, rubbing the top of Stephanie's head when he came beside her. She swatted at his hand. "We wouldn't hang out with you if you're dad didn't pay us."

"Or if you couldn't dance," Stacy added and swooped down before he could mess up her already insane curls. She stood up from the piano bench and came to the boy's side. Hyde quirked an eyebrow; the fact that Fez had a kid, who could actually talk to a girl without getting flustered or pervy, was like the world had been flipped on its axis.

The boy leaned over to move the coffee table. He turned his neck so that he was looking at the girls with a suggestive look. "Like what you see?" he smirked. Stephanie rolled her eyes and gagged, and Stacy feigned death. There was the pervy-ness Hyde expected. He didn't so much like it being said to his daughters, but he couldn't say he was surprised.

Stacy returned to her standing position when her eyes focused on Hyde. She looked uneasily at him, wringing her fingers. She didn't know this man at all besides the family lunch on Sunday, and that hadn't gone over very well. She had listened in on her mother's phone call with the man, and Stacy didn't know what staying meant, but she wasn't so sure she liked it.

"Oh, uh…" the curly haired girl mumbled and looked at her sister. Hyde got the message, and he knew that in order to get on the teen's good side he had to play by her rules. It was like dealing with Jackie. Hyde held his hands up and rose.

"Yeah, no… it's cool. Sorry," he said. Stephanie huffed at Stacy's irrational behavior. This dude knew their grandparents well enough to be trusted free reign in their home, and he was best friends with their godparents. Not to mention, he liked Led Zeppelin, and anyone who had half a brain and liked Zeppelin was good in her book. She was more intrigued than warried about his fight with their mother. It wasn't hard to get into a spat with Jackie Burkhardt, but Steph really wanted to know the reason that their mother hadn't ranted about this fight in particular.

"No, no. It's cool. You can stay," Robbie told the man. Ever since Sunday's dinner, Fez had not shut up about Hyde coming back. Stacy stared at the foreign boy with bug eyes, and Stephanie silently congratulated him. It wasn't easy to stand up to Stace; she had firsthand experience.

"If you're sure…" Hyde looked to Stacy warily. Stacy twisted her neck in the other direction, staring at Stephanie.

Steph waved her hand and nodded her head. "Yeah, man. It's cool. You're probably a better audience then our grandparents who think that whatever these two bozos do is the bee's knees." Stacy rolled her eyes at what Stephanie told the man. She didn't approve of this guy.

Before Stacy had the chance to protest—which she was really looking forward to doing—Stephanie played the beginning notes to the song she and Robbie had chosen, and Robbie was quickly assuming his role as Johnny Castle.

Hyde watched with a blank stare. He could tell that Stacy was a bit stiff in her movements, and she fumbled a few times when she saw him from the corner of her eye. He wanted the girls to like him. He could feel the cold energy radiating off of Stacy, and Hyde would never admit that it stung, even in the slightest.

He was holding off on spilling the truth. He knew that if he said anything, Jackie would rip him a new one, and he wouldn't see the light of day ever again. Hyde also wanted to build a relationship, or a semblance of one, with the girls without having the fact that he was their father be the main factor. He wanted to get to know them for who they were without the labels. More like a cool uncle. When the time came, he would tell them. (Preferably that time would come after he had patched things up with their mother, but beggars can't be choosers.)

Hyde noticed Stacy's distracted stance. She wasn't paying attention when Robbie's grip loosened, and the teenager crashed to the floor. Stephanie stopped abruptly, and Robbie bent beside his partner. Hyde jumped to his feet and held out his hand to Stacy. To his surprise, she took it, smiling in the loosest sense of the term.

"Stace, what was that?" Steph asked. "You've been practicing for weeks!"

Stacy pushed a curl behind her ear as best as she could. Embarrassment was evident in her burning blush, and she didn't want her sister pointing out the mistake she made. "Why do you think it was my fault? What if was Robbie's?" Stacy pointed out, her voice thick.

Robbie placed a hand on his heart, leaning back slightly. " _My_ fault? Listen here, girl."

"It could have been," Hyde interrupted before the boy could go off on Stacy. Robbie and Stephanie furrowed their eyebrows at him as if asking if he was crazy. Stacy's lips parted in surprise at the man who defended her. "Robbie, man, even if your girl's distracted, you're still leadin'. And if you're leading right, then the girl shouldn't have to do any thinking what-so-ever."

"But, uh, Hyde, this is competitive dancing. Not going to the club with a group of friends," Robbie explained to him.

"Yeah, and what do you know about dancing anyway?" Stacy stood defensively at Robbie's side now. Her cold stare was on him, and she took a step closer to her partner. Her arm slung around Robbie's back, and she lifted an eyebrow at the man.

Hyde smirked, raising his own eyebrow so that his expression mirrored the girl's. "Stephanie, can you play 'In the Mood?'" And immediately, Stephanie played the universally known jazz song. Hyde took Stacy by the hand, leading her into the rock step. Despite her initial surprise to dancing suddenly, she still appeared to be unimpressed.

It wasn't until Hyde began twirling her around, and even led a few complicated steps such as the pretzel or the turn table that Stacy could tell the man wasn't completely ignorant to the art. Hyde was right when he said that the girl shouldn't have to think about what she was doing. He led very well, and Stacy had no idea as to what the next move would be, but she kept up anyway. Before long, Stephanie got a few of the notes jumbled up, and she gave up in frustration when her fingers weren't doing what she wanted them to. Signaling the end of Hyde and Stacy's dance. Robbie clapped loudly.

"You're really good!" Stephanie stated, and Robbie nodded. Hyde smirked when he saw Stacy trying to hide her approval with a blank face. The man had to admit that she was better had hiding her emotions than her mother was, but he had dealt with Jackie for years, and he knew that her daughters were no different. Stacy was impressed, but she wasn't going to let Hyde know that.

"Where'd you learn?" Robbie asked. He had only seen moves like that at the club from the people who led the classes. Hyde sighed, taking a seat on the couch.

"Mrs. Forman taught me years ago when I was about your age…" He smiled at the kids wistfully. He wasn't one to reminisce, but it felt like the moment called for it. "Everyone wanted to go to this stupid Disco, but I didn't cause Disco's stupid."

"It is not!" Robbie yelled.

"You couldn't dance," Stephanie offered. Hyde nodded ruefully.

"Not one step… So, your grandma taught me. Red said it was the best way to get a girl, I dunno." Hyde smirked; that hadn't helped.

"That how you got our mom?" Stacy piped in, surprising the other kids and Hyde. He looked at her unsure. Did she know that he was their father? Had she picked up on the clues? Or was it just a simple guess that they had once been together? He couldn't tell. But from the way that Stephanie was gaping at her twin, Hyde could assume she hadn't thought about him and Jackie as a couple.

He chuckled lightly, hesitant on what to reveal to them. "No, I was actually going for your Aunt Donna. Your mom was dating Kelso, and she was annoying as hell."

"She still is," Steph joked. Hyde resisted the urge to high five the girl when Stacy slapped her upside the head. "Double standard…" she muttered, throwing a fist at her sister. The curly haired girl huffed in frustration, pulled away from her twin by Robbie.

"But you did date our mom," Stacy said once she was far enough away from Steph. Hyde nodded again. They must not have been subjected to Jackie's lies and slander for all these years. From the looks of it, they didn't even know there was a man named Steven Hyde. And he didn't know why he was telling them who he was. "She never mentioned you…" Stacy confirmed his thoughts.

" _No one_ mentioned you," Stephanie emphasized.

"For good reason," another voice jumped in. The party turned around, shocked to see Jackie standing behind them. Hyde gulped, his eyes trailing her as she came around to her daughters. "Steven, do you really need to be talking to my daughters right now?" she whined.

He stood, heart clenching in an uncomfortable and unfamiliar way. Jackie looked at him, dead-eyed, hand placed on her cocked hip. Hyde fought the grimace coming to his lips. "Whatever. I'm outta here," he whispered and swiftly walked through the swinging kitchen door. He really needed a beer.


End file.
